


Driven Snow

by scapeartist



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 22:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9259322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scapeartist/pseuds/scapeartist
Summary: Killian Jones wants to learn how to drive and enlists Snow to teach him, but they hit a speed bump or two along the way.





	

Killian watched Emma yawn for the second time as she reached the archway of Granny’s patio, the first having erupted when she stepped out of the door of the diner into the night. She had circles under her eyes, and her gait was far slower than usual, even if “usual” was running into whatever danger Storybrooke and its citizens found themselves in. 

She and David were catching up about their work schedule over the next couple of days, and Killian hung behind, walking with Snow, who was holding her sleeping son in her arms. As Emma reached her car, she glanced at Killian with a small tip of her head toward the passenger side, barely stifling yawn number three. 

He raised his finger to signal he needed a moment. As David took the baby from Snow to finagle the child into his car seat, Killian reached over and placed his hand on Snow’s arm, stopping her. 

“A word, Snow?”

“Uh, sure, Killian. What is it?”

Snow glanced over at David’s progress then back at Killian and smiled. 

“I was wondering if I may ask a favor of you.”

“Of course, anything,” she said.

He nodded toward the street where the cars sat idling. “Would you have time to teach me how to pilot one these vessels?”

Snow looked happily surprised. “Driving lessons?”

“Aye.”

Smiling brightly, she said, “I think I can squeeze that in.” 

“I’m much obliged.”

A puzzled look passed over Snow’s face as she considered Killian. “Mind if I ask something?”

“Of course not,” he said.

“Why not Emma? Or David?” 

“Emma’s busy enough. I don't need to be under foot all the time. And I’ve seen what happens when David teaches someone to drive. I’d rather not cause any more damage to his truck. Or the town.”

Snow laughed. “His truck  _ is _ becoming a bit of an eyesore. And I’m not sure the city budget can take another hit either. Do you want to start tomorrow? How about 10am?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” Killian bowed. “Thank you, m’lady.” 

 

* * *

 

When Killian arrived at the loft, Snow was just finishing tucking her baby into a sweater. Picking up a bag in one hand, and hefting the babe onto her hip, she grinned at Killian.

“Right on time! Are you excited?” 

He didn’t know if “excited” was the best way to describe what he was feeling. Learning a new skill wasn’t beyond him, but having been been hit by a vehicle, he was more than aware of the damage it could cause. His cautiousness was overshadowed by his need to adapt to this world now that it looked like he’d be staying for the duration, or at least until they were forced to some other realm. 

“Aye,” he answered with a tense smile that disappeared as quickly.

Snow waved her hand, dismissing his obvious reticence. “Oh, you’ll get it in no time. And you won’t have to get cursed first to do it. Count yourself among the lucky,” Snow said as she locked the door to the loft behind her. 

“You’ll be needing these,” she said, handing the keys to Killian, who watched as the baby followed the sound of the jingling with his eyes, a toothless smile working its way between chubby cheeks.

He smiled at the lad in return, giving the keys an extra shake for the boy’s amusement, and followed Snow down the stairs. Killian held the door open for mother and child and they walked over to her car parked near the entrance of the building. It was bigger and taller than Emma’s and the color of red wine.

“Why don’t you go get in the car while I get this little guy strapped in. He loves going for rides. Don’t you?” she cooed at her son who squealed in delight at his mother’s attention.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring him along for my first lesson?” Killian asked.

Snow popped her head back out of the car to answer. “I'm sure you’ll be careful.” 

Killian wasn’t sure if that was meant to be assurance or a threat, but it didn’t matter. Careful was his goal regardless. He walked around to the driver’s side of the car and opened the door. With a deep breath he got in and looked at the dashboard. Sailing a ship seemed far easier in that moment. Not that it wasn’t a complex operation, mind, but this… this seemed like too much information at one time to pilot such a small vehicle. 

With the babe secure and babbling to himself in his carseat, Snow slid into the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt over her chest and latched it into the buckle with a snap. She looked over at Killian and nodded. 

“You too, Captain.”

Having been preoccupied with all that lay at his fingertips, Killian had forgotten. “Right,” he said and did the same. 

“Better than lashing yourself to the mast, huh?” Snow teased. 

“Definitely less damp.”

It had been a while since any of them had brought up their ill-fated encounter with the tempest mermaid, and Killian was glad at least they could laugh about it now. 

“Is it hard to sail a ship?” Snow asked.

“Steering a ship is easy enough. Navigating is another thing entirely though. Doing both during a storm is...tricky.”

“How long did it take you to learn?”

Killian frowned as he looked out into the distance. He fiddled with his rings as he tried to remember without thinking too much about why he knew. “Well, I’d been aboard ships from a young age, so in some respects, I absorbed knowledge along the way. The Royal Navy refined and expanded that knowledge and gave me more experience. All totaled, though? Several years.”

Snow nodded. “This won’t take that long. From what I’ve seen, you’re a quick study.”

Smacking the tops of her thighs with palms of her hands, Snow asked with a bright smile,  “Ready?!”

“Aye,” Killian said with less enthusiasm than his teacher but ready nonetheless.

He put the key into the ignition as he’d seen Emma do many times, but before he could turn it and start the engine, Snow placed a hand on his forearm.

“Before we start driving, let’s get you oriented. Okay?”

“Please.”

“So, some of this we can translate into terms you are more familiar with if you think that will help.”

Killian looked at Snow, curious. “How so?”

She gestured at everything in front of him. “For instance: the dashboard is your helm and navigation.”

“Excellent.”

She pointed to the center of the console with a round, compass-like section with numbers increasing from 0 to 120. “That section tells your speed in miles per hour, not knots. Around here, you want to keep it hovering near 25 to 30. Highways are faster, but that’s not where we are starting. We’ll do that later.”

She pointed out the other indicators: fuel gauge, engine temperature, clock, oil level, and wrapped up with, “You don't need to know all of this all the time, but it's there when you do. It looks overwhelming, I know.”

Killian nodded. He wondered if he would ever feel that same carefree exhilaration he did on his ship when they sailed at a good clip, the trade winds favorable, and the seas welcoming. He couldn’t imagine, as he sat in that metal box, the two could ever compare. 

“Look down where your feet are. There are two pedals. The left… uh port?” Killian gave a quick nod in confirmation. “The port pedal is your anchor, let’s say.” 

Killian tapped it with his foot and felt the resistance. 

“The other pedal is your...wind. It’s the gas pedal and makes the car pick up speed. You use the same foot to operate both pedals because you really only use one or the other, not both at the same time. “

Killian nodded, impressed with Snow’s instruction. “Understood.”

“Good. Ok, so one of the most important things about driving on the road with others is communication.” 

“I’ve seen how this realm communicates with other travelers; sailors are far more colorful with their insults.”

Snow laughed. “No, no, I don’t mean  _ that _ . I mean it comes to that if you don’t let drivers know what you are about to do, but I don’t mean yelling at each other—especially the ones who can do magic. The car itself has means to communicate what you are doing. Don’t ships signal their intentions when they are near other ships?”

“They do. Will I need to hire a signalman to ride along? I may have an extra set of flags aboard the  _ Jolly Roger _ .” Killian grinned and winked at Snow. 

Rolling her eyes, Snow shook her head. “Funny. No. See that lever to the left of the steering wheel? That’s your turn signal. You have to push it up when you are going to turn… starboard. Push it down to turn port side.”

“Aye.”

“Excellent. Before you go anywhere you need to check around the car to make sure you aren’t going to hit anyone and no one is going to hit you. That’s what the mirrors are for. Consider them spy glasses.”  

Killian glanced at all three mirrors to check the areas they reflected. He slumped down in his seat a little and checked again. 

“Oh! You can adjust the mirrors to suit you. They move. See?” Snow moved the rearview mirror to demonstrate, and then Killian reached up and readjusted it so he could sit more comfortably and see behind.   

“Can you see everything?”

“I think so.” 

“Last thing. You have to use this,” she said, resting her hand on the gear shift, “to let the car know what you want  _ it _ to do. ‘D’ is for ‘drive’ and ‘P’ is for ‘park.’ ‘R’ is for ‘reverse’ and ‘N’ is for ‘neutral.’ You press down on that button by your thumb and move the stick next to the letter. Make sense?”

Killian nodded slowly, but he looked confused. 

“Snow, I think your car is different. This,” he said, gripping the gear shift, “is not the same as in Emma’s car. Does it matter?”

“Oh, you're right! Emma has a stick shift, doesn't she? Damn.” Snow’s dark brows furrowed as she frowned. She thought for a moment and shook her head. “You know what? For today it doesn't matter. We’ll just do the basics and get you used to being behind the wheel. Okay?”

“Aye, if you think that's the right course.” 

“I do. Let’s drive.”

 

* * *

 

“So,” Emma began, coming up behind Killian as he sat on the couch in their living room. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and softly kissed his neck. “How was your first driving lesson?”

Killian reached up and caressed Emma’s arm with his hook. “Regina won’t be coming after me for damages, and your brother will live to see his first birthday.” 

“All important things,” she laughed. Emma kissed him once more on the cheek and let go of him, heading around the couch to sit next to him instead. 

“Aside from that, your mother’s patience is fathomless. Which, not surprising, given your father and her history with Regina.” 

Emma snorted as she curled her legs under her. “And let’s not forget the dwarves.” 

“If it’s all the same, I’d rather. And how was work today, love?”

Emma shrugged. “Managed to avoid curses, bad guys, and indigestion after lunch at Granny’s.”

“Boring day then,” Killian said, drawing her closer and kissing her temple.

“Pretty much.” Emma snuggled into Killian and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Did you like driving?”

“It wasn’t quite as liberating as the open seas, but I think in time, I’ll enjoy it more. I’m too worried about damaging someone or something to feel anything besides caution.”

Emma patted his ribs and looked up at him. “Understandable, having been on the wrong side of a moving car and all.”

“Aye.”

“What was your favorite part?” 

Killian twined a lock Emma’s hair around his finger. “Knowing that once I have more practice, I can relieve you of some burdens around here.”

She looked up at him, momentarily stunned. “Is that why you are doing this? I just thought you were ready to learn.” 

“I suppose that’s part of it, but mostly I want to lighten your load.”

Emma sat up and shifted to straddle Killian’s lap kissing him soundly, taking his breath away.

She pulled back, anchoring her fingers in his hair, and looking at him with mischief in her eyes. “Maybe we’d have more time for… other things.”

“‘Other things.’ Sounds intriguing.” Killian pressed the curve of his hook into her lower back, urging her closer.

Emma kissed him softly, one hand cupping his jaw and the other flat on his chest, his heartbeat thrumming steadily beneath it. She moved barely a hair’s breadth away and asked, “When’s your next lesson?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

Smiling, she said, “Good. That gives us some time.”

“Not...nearly...enough,” Killian said between kisses along Emma’s jaw.  
  


* * *

  
At the appointed time, Killian made his way to the loft for his next driving lesson with Snow. He was surprised to see Emma’s bright yellow car parked outside the building rather than Snow’s. She hadn’t mentioned anything that morning about being there, nor did she offer him a ride into town, either.

Just as he was about to open the door to the apartment building, Snow came out, beaming at him.

Killian looked past her, waiting for Emma to follow. Snow followed his gaze and then shook her head, waving her hand.

“Emma’s not here. We’re just borrowing her car. I couldn’t find another standard, and since this is the car you’ll be driving anyway, I asked Emma if we could borrow it. She has my car if she needs to go anywhere.”

“Ah,” was all Killian could say. He was disappointed not to see Emma, of course, but he also felt bad that the one thing that he was trying to do to relieve her of some responsibility only added to it in the end. He sighed and forced a smile. He didn’t want Snow to think he didn’t appreciate her careful thought into his lessons.

“Where’s the lad?” he asked, changing the subject before Snow could clue into his frustration even if it was only with himself.

“He’s with Ashley. There’s not a car seat safe enough to withstand a first time driver using a stick shift.” Killian’s brows furrowed with a tinge of distress. “You’ll see what I mean in a minute. Shall we?”

Snow held out Emma’s keys to Killian, and he took them and got into the car.

“I’d forgotten how cozy this car is,” Snow said as she buckled in, bumping Killian’s arm in the process. “It’s been a while.”

Killian remembered feeling a touch of claustrophobia the first time he rode in the car when he, Swan, and Henry returned to Storybrooke from New York. The bright yellow “Bug” as Emma called it, was a far cry from the deck of his ship, but it served its purpose well and they made the long journey unscathed. He’d gotten used to traveling this way, and honestly didn’t mind the close quarters of the car. Any time he could be close to Emma was more than acceptable to him.

Adjusting his seat to better fit his legs comfortably before buckling in, Killian noticed how much less information there was available on the dashboard. This car only kept track of speed and fuel, and both were contained in the same circle. The sense of relief he felt at not having to monitor multiple things while learning this car’s quirks was palpable.

“So, you’ve obviously paid some attention to how Emma drives this car,” Snow said, interrupting Killian’s thoughts.

“Aye, some. I know she uses that,” he nodded at the stick shift between them, “and other cars I’ve been in do not.”

“Right. Other cars, like mine, only require you to use the gear shift to move between states like driving and parking and reverse. Manual cars, like Emma’s, require you to shift into other gears as you accelerate or decelerate, too. It’s more thinking at first, but once you get the hang of it, it will all be second nature.”

“You sound like you speak from experience. How did you learn to drive a car like this?”

Snow laughed. “First curse. The cars were older, some were standards, or manuals, like this, and others were automatics. We all sort of inherited the knowledge when the curse brought us over. When...I brought us over trying to get away from Zelena, the technology updated to something slightly more modern, and we ended up with automatics. That’s why it was so hard to find one for us to use.” Snow thought for a moment. “Maybe next time we’ll get hovercraft.”

Raising an eyebrow, Killian asked, “Next time?”

“Kidding. I hope. You never know around here.”

“Truer words, milady.”

“Alright. Let’s get started. I’m not sure exactly how to translate using a clutch into sailing terms. Don’t know enough about sailing, really. Probably need to abandon that comparison.”

“I’m sure I can figure it out, although I do appreciate you trying. It’s very kind of you.”

Snow smiled. “That’s what good teachers do, Killian. Make things relatable. That way the information sticks.”

She was right. His connection to the process of driving by giving the most basic of nautical terms made the whole lesson sink in that much faster and gave him the information he needed to be successful without having to be directed constantly. He was far more confident about driving because of it.

“Ready?”

“Aye. I think so.”

Snow ran through how the gear shift and the clutch worked together, and then pointed out the map of gear locations on the knob of the stick. It seemed simple enough: engage the clutch, shift to the proper gear, release the clutch. He knew from observing Emma, that’s what she did.

“Now, I know that sounds simple, but there’s more finesse to it than that. You have to sort of balance the transfer between gas and clutch, otherwise the car stalls out. You’ll use both feet at the same time—left on the clutch, right working the gas and brake. It’s easy to bungle it, so you might as well start off now forgiving yourself.”

“Not one of my stronger suits.”

“Aaand  _ that’s _ why I’m warning you now. Everyone—and I mean  _ everyone _ —who learns how to drive a standard bucks the car.”

“Like a  _ horse _ ?” he asked, incredulous. Swan had never done such a thing that he’d seen.

Snow scrunched her nose and tilted her head to the side as if afraid to break the news.

“Kinda? You won’t topple out the back and break anything, but it  _ is _ jarring. But that’s ok,” she said, patting him on the arm. “You aren’t hurting the car. Much. So, take a couple of deep breaths and fire up the engine after you press and hold down on the clutch,” Snow said.

Killian shot her a dubious glance, but pressed the clutch to the floor and turned the key in the ignition, stepping on the gas just enough. The engine rattled to life and the car jiggled a little as it always did.  _ So far, so good. _ He glanced down at the stick shift to make sure he knew where he was moving it to first.

“Same rules apply as yesterday,” Snow reminded him. “Check your mirrors and make sure no one is coming.”

He did, and as he rocked the gear shift back and forth as he had seen Emma do on countless occasions, he felt how loose it was in its neutral position.

“Slip it into first gear—but don’t let go of the clutch yet!” Snow cried out a little too late.

The car bucked, just as she had warned him, and then the engine stalled.

Killian’s jaw twitched. Snow slid her hands off the dash where she had braced herself.

“Hey, it’s ok. You’re getting it out of the way early. It’s fine.”

“It doesn’t feel fine!” Killian snapped. The motion of the car jerking as hard as it did threw Killian for a loop. Not that it wasn’t akin to a horse bucking, but it was far more forceful—as if the whole car were going to fling itself off its axle. That certainly would help neither him nor Emma.

Snow arched her dark brows. “I  _ did _ warn you.”

Killian looked down at his lap and sighed. “Aye, you did. Sorry.”

“Try again. You’ll need to shift into second gear pretty quickly once you get on the road, so leave your hand on the stick.”

“Aye.”

Killian pressed down on the clutch, started the engine and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he checked the mirrors yet again to be sure no one was coming down the road. He moved the stick into first gear, and as he began the transfer between the clutch and gas, he reached for the steering wheel with his hook to turn the car left onto the road. His hook caught on the steering wheel at first, but then it slipped off, distracting him, and causing him to buck the car again.

The engine stalled with a heaving shudder.

“ _ Bloody _ hell!” he bit out from between clenched teeth.

“Oh,” was all Snow said. She looked crestfallen. “I didn’t even… I  _ forgot… _ ”

The design of the steering wheel made it practically impossible for Killian to find a good place to use his hook to help steer while his hand was on the gear shift. The horizontal bar that ran the diameter of the wheel was too low to help him spin it left or right without twisting his arm uncomfortably or without accidentally jamming his his hook into his thigh.

Not for the first time, Killian cursed The Crocodile for taking his hand. He’d retaliated by turning his disadvantage into an effective weapon he wielded with deadly accuracy. His hook was more than a  _ nom de guerre _ used to frighten his enemies; in the years after Milah’s death, he  _ was _ that hook. Utilitarian yet violent. Beyond his unfortunate relationship to it, he was simply more comfortable having it on than anything else. He supposed he could use his wooden hand for driving, but it was awkward and not particularly useful other than to give the illusion of him being whole.

In this realm, it was becoming abundantly clear his hook was a poor substitute.

Sighing from deep down near his belly, Killian removed the keys and passed them over to Snow who took them reluctantly. He bowed his head briefly, a bitter smile on his lips, and his brows furrowed deeply.

“I thank you, Snow, for taking the time to teach me what you could. But I need some time to think about this particular venture in light of my...limitations.”

He could see Snow’s usual determination rising, and her mouth opening, no doubt to give him a speech about perseverance in the face of adversity, but he cut it off with a hard look that brooked no argument.

Snow sighed and shrugged sadly.

“Can I drop you off at home at least?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No need. I’m not going home. I’m going to go drive something I know I can maneuver with this hardware,” he pronounced, holding up his hook.

Snow’s eyes widened and a smile began to form. “Oh! Killian! Wait! I think I—”

Killian had already opened the door and stepped out. He leaned down and looked at Snow. “Thank you,” he said again and turned, heading toward the docks and  _ The Jolly Roger _ .

 

* * *

 

The sun was setting when Killian pulled  _ The Jolly Roger _ into her berth. Emma stood, bathed in soft golden light, leaning against the hood of her Bug in the parking lot nearby. She cocked her head and smiled at him as he waved. She walked toward the ship as he dropped anchor. Wordlessly, she caught a spring line he tossed to her and tied it to the cleat at the edge of the dock. Then, the two of them tied off the bow line securing the ship for the night. 

“Ahoy, Captain,” Emma said as she tucked her hand around Killian’s elbow. “Feel better?”

“I do now.”

“Mom told me what happened today.”

“Mmm,” he hummed, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the way he handled the situation.

“It’s ok, you know. We can get a different car that you can drive.”

“I don’t want you to give up your car for me before you’re ready. And I don’t want to cause more trouble. I’ve done enough of that already.”

Emma chuckled. “Well, buying a car  _ is _ worse than going to the Underworld, I’ll grant you that. But for you? I’d do it.”

“I appreciate that, love, but unfortunately, it’s not entirely the point.”

“Then what is?”

He’d given that particular question a fair amount of thought as he sailed around the bay. He was one man capable of sailing a ship by himself, one-handed, but he couldn’t manage a small car. It was humiliating, frankly. He wanted to experience the freedom he felt on the seas no matter where he was. But over the last few weeks, little things were piling up, reminding him that he was not truly as independent as he’d like. Failing to drive Emma’s car because of his own short-coming dredged up feelings he’d thought he’d long buried.

Killian paused and looked into Emma’s eyes, which held no judgement for his lack of decorum earlier.

“Self-sufficiency,” he said.  

Emma nodded. “Ah. That I understand. So why run off? Why not stick with it? No pun intended.”

Killian snorted softly and looked away, continuing to walk toward her car. “I let my bruised ego get the better of me. I had convinced myself I could do anything if it were for you, but when that failed, well...” he sighed, looking chagrined.

“You needed to go feel like yourself again?”

“I needed to rethink why I was truly doing it in the first place. You were certainly part of the equation, but you weren’t all of it.”

Squeezing his arm, Emma leaned her head on his shoulder.

“You know,” she said, “mom told me how quickly you were picking up driving the first day. This is just a minor set-back. Besides, I thought you liked a challenge.”

“I do,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “But this realm has more challenges for me than I’m used to some days. I can’t play Henry’s game, it’s difficult for me to use that...what is it? Keyboard. For the magic box—”

“Computer.”

“Aye.  _ Computer _ . Being unable to master driving your car felt like one more indication I didn’t fit in this world no matter how hard I worked at it.”

Emma came around and stood in front of him grasping both his hand and hook. “Hey, you  _ do _ fit in this world. You fit in  _ my _ world. And I don’t give a rat’s ass if you can drive my stupid car. It’s not like I can sail your boat.”

“Ship. And you  _ have _ sailed her when I couldn’t.”

“ _ Ship _ . And that was a poorly written story and you weren’t you at the time. I can’t sail her by myself like you can. I  _ like _ having you beside me as navigator when I drive. It’s an important job.”

“Is that so,  _ Captain _ ?” Killian asked as he slipped his arms around her waist and walked Emma back until she was leaning against the hood of the car.

“Aye,” she answered. Standing on her tip-toes, Emma kissed him as the sun’s rays peeked their last on the horizon.  
  


* * *

  
Two days later, Killian was in the living room, reading a book Belle had loaned him, when he heard the sound of beeping outside. He knew that sound. It was Emma’s car, but she was at work for at least a few more hours.

He shoved his makeshift bookmark—a note from Emma telling him not to eat all the bon-bons—into the book and made his way to the front door and opened it. Expecting to see Emma, he was surprised to see Snow standing there instead. She looked at him expectantly, tapping her foot.

“You didn’t think your driving lessons were over, did you?”

Killian shrugged. “I thought I had worn out my welcome after my...tantrum.”

Snow laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, no. I am a teacher. I’ve seen worse tantrums. Let’s go, Captain. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Reaching over to grab his jacket, Killian could not imagine what Snow had up her sleeve.

The car was running when he reached it, and Snow held out her arm, gesturing for him to take his seat. Sliding into the driver’s side, Killian could not believe what he was seeing.

Placed along the top of the wheel were four wooden knobs at regular intervals, like the spindles on the wheel of the helm of  _ The Jolly Roger. _ He touched each of them, the finish on them smooth and the warm brown, rich. He tested his hook around one of them and it was the same solid connection and ease of movement. Killian looked up in awe at Snow who was standing by the still open door. She could barely contain her glee at his reaction and pointed at one of the knobs.

“Did you see?! That one has a compass!”

Sure enough, a small compass had been inlaid into the knob, its needle bobbing gently as it pointed north.

“And they can all be adjusted to different locations if you need them to be. They are screwed on. See?”

Killian glanced underneath the knobs to see the butterfly screws holding the knobs onto the wheel.

“I don’t know what to say. This is…”

“Pretty awesome, right?” Snow finished for him.

“Indeed.” Killian stepped out of the car and folded Snow into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. He could barely speak.

Snow returned his hug and patted his back. “You ready for a lesson?” she asked.

Killian just nodded trying to pull himself together. He’d all but resigned himself to waiting until the day when Emma got a new car to drive. He wasn’t expecting this. It was more than he could have hoped for after his exit the other day.

Snow scurried around to her side as Killian sat back down on his. Buckling in, Killian looked at Snow with amazement.

“Are you going to share how this all came to be?” he asked.

Snow gave a short laugh. “Well, you gave me the idea when you said you were going to go drive something you could maneuver with your hook. Instead of bringing the car back to Emma, I stopped off at Marco’s and told him my idea and this is what we came up with. He took the wheel measurements and it was his idea to include the compass.”

“It’s bloody brilliant. The whole thing. I can’t thank you—or Marco—enough.”

Patting his leg, Snow nodded. “Shall we go thank him in person?”

“Aye.”  
  


* * *

  
Several nights later, Killian, Emma, and her parents were leaving Granny’s after their weekly dinner together. Killian watched Emma yawn deeply as she approached the car. He reached over and plucked the keys from her hand, opening the passenger side door for her instead.

“Allow me, love,” he said. 

“Oh, I get to play navigator tonight, do I?” Emma asked, tugging on the lapel of Killian’s jacket. 

“I hear it’s a very important job.”


End file.
